Headlines For Those Who Say: "I Am Not A Writer."

Most of us are not writers. Hemingway was a writer. Tolstoy was a writer. Stephen King is a writer. Writing is about crafting wonderful fiction, stories of power and feeling. But we're talking here about creative writers.

We, on the other hand, are natural-born persuaders. Think of all the people you persuade every day...

• your suppliers and your customers
• your co-workers and your boss (if you're the boss, your employees)
• your spouse and your children
• your friends and associates
• even your competitors!

The great motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, has said, "You can get anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."

Ignoring this simple insight is the most common cause of marketing failure. Over and over, I've seen otherwise sharp marketers launch a product or service because they want to sell it, not because anyone wants to buy it.

I have always considered this the ultimate secret of how to sell anything: "Find out what others want and help them get it."

So ..... how do you write a headline that accomplishes this?

Here's a quick example: Let's say you're advertising a savings and investment program designed to help people have enough money to retire someday. You could run a headline that says something like…

"New Survey Reveals That Only 1 in 12 Will Have Enough Money to Retire"

On the surface, this seems like a good, smart headline. It factually and credibly points out a problem that millions of people either have or will soon face.

But in my view it's a weak headline. Here's why…

The first rule of writing body copy is that your first few paragraphs should immediately pay off. They should build upon your headline. Coming off the headline above, you'd have to expand upon it and that means you'd have to waste your critical introductory paragraphs educating your audience about a problem they may face. In effect, you'd be trying to educate your audience into feeling a motivation. This doesn't work!

Whenever you find yourself educating your readers about a problem they may have, consider it a red warning flag! If you have to educate people into realizing they have a problem, you're already losing the battle.

Here's how one of the direct marketing masters wrote the headline. Look how much more efficiently John Caples cuts right to the chase, by using his headline to attract the right audience (an already motivated one) to hear about a retirement income plan.

His headline: "To Men Who Want to Quit Work Someday"

Like a blast of trumpets, this headline instantly calls together the right audience ... a motivated audience ... of people who already know they want to plan now for a comfortable, worry-free retirement. Caples' headline instantly assembles a group of already motivated, prequalified prospects front and center in the courtyard of his announcement, where he can persuade them with news about a solution they already want. He doesn't have to start a fire of motivation, only feed the fire already burning!

Now, go ahead and write website copy that "sells" by persuading your audience who are already waiting to hear what you have to say.

To accomplish your goal, I have arranged to get you this famous web writing e-Course ABSOLUTELY FREE. It normally costs $29.95, but because its author is on our Board Of Advisors, he has given us permission to let you download if FREE for the next 13 days.
Go to: http://myws.sitesell.com/harsonhill.html